Amazon's Deplorable Labor Conditions in Germany

Amazon is getting a lot very bad press in Germany these days - and deservedly so. I have to admit, I buy from Amazon and also sell books on the site. Amazon has a fabulous platform that makes it so easy to find merchandise and make purchases. And the prices are generally quite good. Now, for Germany at least, we know what is behind Amazon's low costs: the workers - mostly temporary labor from Spain or Greece - live in cramped spaces, earn very low wages, and are watched over 24/7 by a security firm that hires neo-Nazi thugs.

The German TV network ARD went behind the scenes to interview some workers:

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German labor minister Ursula von der Leyen is investigating Amazon's alleged abuses, but it will be difficult for any meaningful change to occur unless we the consumers change our behavior. Problem is, we have become addicted to Amazon's platform and business model.

(People tend to make it easy on themselves when they shop. Don't think about it too much, look at the price and press the order button - done. Where the merchandise comes from, under what conditions it was produced, packed and delivered is of little interest to most customers. What matters is what benefits us. And in this Greed is Good world this is defined by the cheapest price possible.)

Comments

In my job, we're running three online platforms: Our own shop, one at eBay and one at Amazon - and our Amazon store outperforms the other two, our turnover has doubled since we are professional sellers at Amazon. Surprisingly, we generally can sell our products at higher prices there. I don't think the customers buy where they find the cheapest price possible. If they would google a product found in our Amazon store, they would easily find it 5 - 10 % cheaper in our own online shop. Generally, in first place, consumers buy where they are used to buy, in a shop they know and they trust. In second place, especially when it comes to machines and electronics, they buy what they like and not what they understand. Obviously this is the point where the art of selling is most important. In third place we have a big manure heap. :)) Then comes the price.

If Stuttgart's best-known bookstore has to shut his doors, they probably have ignored the signs of the time for more than a decade. I suppose they never read 'Clicking' by Faith Popcorn. Once we also have been a pure retail shop and we also would have had to shut our doors years ago if we never had expanded into the internet.

I feel about Amazon the way I feel about Wal-Mart. The business model is good. Why not have one store where you can find everything you need without having to look everywhere? I hate to shop, just want to get what I want or need with as little time and effort as possible. But I don't think this means these corporations should be stiffing the workers. That is why we need strong unions who bargain collectively for employees. And in this country we have got to raise the minimum wage.